Tag Archives: germany

Resole of my Red Wings 1908 by Werner Sibla

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Resole of my Red Wings 1908 by bespoke Shoemaker Werner Sibla

This saturday I finally could pickup my pair of Redwings 1908 after they have been masterly redone by bespoke shoemaker Werner Sibla.

I did an interview about Werner Sibla about a month ago be-cause I really liked his shoes and the way he incredibly resorted or redid some shoes for customers. We spend about 4 hours of talking and he was very open to share some of his skills and tools he uses. A couple of days later he agreed to have a look at my ruined Red Wings 1908. The sole was ripped off and overall the leather, the rim and the heel suffered quite a lot within the last 4 years.

red wings repair 092

I just told him that I wanted an extra layer of leather in the sole and the heel and left the rest of the job to him. It turned out superb. Just let someone who knows his job do his job. His main business is to make bespoke shoes and he also got a very good reputation for restoring premium shoes like Alden, John Lobb or Crocket and Jones just to name a view.

I guess he really liked to work with my boots and also liked the result.  So when I asked him if I may publish his name and website to friends and readers, he agreed to. Im really excited what further projects will be shown on his Instragram or on his recent job section on his website.

be-cause-bag – Leather Tote bag project

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be-cause-bag – Leather Tote bag project

It was in my mind for a long time to finally hand sew my first handbag. The ingredients were simple. First of all the best vegetable tanned leather I could get my hands on, simple design, hand stitched with saddle stitch, best thread, no zippers (they will break at first), and some well thought of practical details. Overall it took me about 10 hours to cut and sew this bag.

A while ago I took test cast of the Indian Head from Feinschmuck out of solid copper and turned it into a button. It now serves the locking for the bag. Interchangable with other buttons and the leather straps can be easily changed as well over the years. This is just a start, I will produce more leather tote bags soon – waiting for more leather hides.

Breuninger Gerberei / Tannery Schorndorf Germany

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Breuninger Gerberei / Tannery Schorndorf Germany

Last friday I had an appointment with Mr. Breuninger the owner of the Breuninger Tannery in Schorndorf Germany. The Breuningers tann since 1552 and since 12 generations as red tanner (vegetable tanner),  so from the specs they know their business. Already have received a couple of leather samples I really wan´t to see the factory and to have a closer look at the hides. They do only vegetable tann from german cattle and emphasize on the natural look of the hides.

I was really impressed from what I saw. The aniline tanning results in really characteristic hides by preserving the natural structure of the leather. Mr. Beuninger was really informative and helpful in explaining various aspects of his profession. Finally I bought some hides and reserved one. I guess we found another, or the supplier for future Feinschmuck products.

Custom Leather Workshop – Armin Dobstetter Ellwangen

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First of all thanks to Uwe T. to arrange this great workshop. One of the top leather crafters of the world Armin Dobstetter – Custom Leather from Ellwangen hosted a two days workshop where we did a wooden surface belt.  Armin started to work with leather when he was 14 years old. I assume that was more than 30 years ago. Within this time he won many leather craft competitions in the States. He is mostly known within the biker scene by his custom leather seats.

Within his shop you only can try to imagine what knowledge and experience he gained within some decades. Armin never got tired during the workshop to answer the questions by us in the most detailed way. He is not afraid to  share his knowledge. His argument is that it took him about 30 years to gain it and if he shares it to someone he is already further until he might reach his skills. This made his workshop really special and is the way it should be done. It even went so far that on the last day we really had to hurry to finish our belts.

If you really look for something special made out of leather and want to make your motorbike stand out of the crowd Armin is the guy to talk to. Thanks a lot for your time and inputs you gave us last week – hope to see you soon again.

Soxisix Straight Seam Belt – Sample by Red Owl

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Soxisix BROWN CURVE SEAM Belt Distributed by Red Owl 266 Soxisix BROWN CURVE SEAM Belt Distributed by Red Owl 261 Soxisix BROWN CURVE SEAM Belt Distributed by Red Owl 260 Soxisix BROWN CURVE SEAM Belt Distributed by Red Owl 253 Soxisix BROWN CURVE SEAM Belt Distributed by Red Owl 265 Soxisix BROWN CURVE SEAM Belt Distributed by Red Owl 259 Soxisix BROWN CURVE SEAM Belt Distributed by Red Owl 263 Soxisix BROWN CURVE SEAM Belt Distributed by Red Owl 264 Soxisix BROWN CURVE SEAM Belt Distributed by Red Owl 262 Soxisix BROWN CURVE SEAM Belt Distributed by Red Owl 258 Soxisix BROWN CURVE SEAM Belt Distributed by Red Owl 257 Soxisix BROWN CURVE SEAM Belt Distributed by Red Owl 250 Soxisix BROWN CURVE SEAM Belt Distributed by Red Owl 256 Soxisix BROWN CURVE SEAM Belt Distributed by Red Owl 254 Soxisix BROWN CURVE SEAM Belt Distributed by Red Owl 255 Soxisix BROWN CURVE SEAM Belt Distributed by Red Owl 251 Soxisix BROWN CURVE SEAM Belt Distributed by Red Owl 252

 

Soxisix Straight Seam Belt – sample provided by Red Owl

By mid of October I discovered a link about the czech leather crafters Soxisix. About a month later Ingo Laufenbergs who offers a lot of high quality handmade belts from various leather crafters contact me and sent me recently a sample of one of their belts.

The first thing is when I got the belt was the very well designed packaging. Then the belt which is massive by its leather thickness. All hand sewn and self cast belt buckles. A lot of nice details e.g. the mermaid on the buckle, the stamps and prints on the leather or the numbering of each belt makes them special. The Straight Seam Belt got some artificial vintage and used effects which is probably one of the only things you can argue about if you want to earn the used effects by yourself on this belt.

The construction and craftsmanship of this belt is top of the class. A really well made belt which got it´s basic design from vintage military belts. In Germany you can buy this belt from Ingo Laufenbergs Website Red Owl.

Superior Labor Bread & Butter Summer 2013

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Superior Labor Bread & Butter Summer 2013

Hardly you see a brand who manages to combine canvas, leather and solid brass hardware so well together – for sure a Japanese Brand. I hope they will be at the Bread & Butter January 2014 for a closer look. Thanks to Takao for pointing me to Superior Labor Website.

Schachenmayr Gerberei / Tannery Bad Grönenbach

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Lately I visited the Schachenmayr Gerberei / Tannery in Bad Grönenbach to buy leather for upcoming Feinschmuck Buckles/Belts. Unluckily the rumors were right, the Schachenmayr Tannery is discontinuing to make leather, which they did since 1851. But the good news is that the machines, the knowledge and the recipes will be passed to another german based Tannery. Mr Schachenmayr will so be able to trade “his” great leather after his specifications, further to his clients.

Art auctions – true vintage

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Art Auction Zeller Lindau Germany 01 Art Auction Zeller Lindau Germany 02 Art Auction Zeller Lindau Germany 03 Art Auction Zeller Lindau Germany 04 Art Auction Zeller Lindau Germany 05 Art Auction Zeller Lindau Germany 06 Art Auction Zeller Lindau Germany 07 Art Auction Zeller Lindau Germany 08 Art Auction Zeller Lindau Germany 09 black forest clock auction Art Auction Zeller Lindau Germany 11 Art Auction Zeller Lindau Germany 12 benin bronze mask for auction zellerZeller art and antiques auctions:
The love for “vintage” stuff might have been influenced a lot by working for Zeller art and antiques auction for about a decade. Surrounded by thousands of objects which move through the auction house every 3 month will not get by unrecognized even by a nerd. Realizing that some stuff is affordable and even quite cheap if you compare the craftsmanship involved in creating those pieces I started to hunt. It is not just the präservation of a (our) heritage it is also a kind of recycling. Bargains on flea markets are hard to find, with ebay being a price guide most sellers have a good reference for the price. Auction houses tend to start low with a price to attract bidders and if you are lucky you might be the only one who bids.

The images above, I took on a visit just give a quick impression “behind the scenes”, some more great stuff is still coming in and to show approx. 3500 – 4500 lots is impossible. Bidding online is possible but visiting a traditional Art Auctioneer like Michael Zeller who does his job since more than 40 years is a thrilling and sometimes entertaining performance.

Bremerhaven – Harbour

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Bremerhaven Harbour tour Shipyard Bremerhaven Harbour tour Shipyard01 Bremerhaven Harbour tour Shipyard01 Bremerhaven Harbour tour Shipyard01 Bremerhaven Harbour tour Shipyard01 Bremerhaven Harbour tour Shipyard01 Bremerhaven Harbour tour Shipyard01 Bremerhaven Harbour tour Shipyard01 Bremerhaven Harbour tour Shipyard09 Bremerhaven Harbour tour Shipyard01 Bremerhaven Harbour tour Shipyard11 Bremerhaven Harbour tour Shipyard01 Bremerhaven Harbour tour Shipyard01 Bremerhaven Harbour tour Shipyard01

Bremerhaven – Harbour:
Visiting my sister in Bremerhaven, I had to see the harbour with it´s ships and shipyards. The peak time of the shipbuiling in Bremerhaven is long gone. With  incredible efficiency even the huge containerships are unloaded and reloaded within a day or two, so not too many sailors or hookers in town. But some remains of the glory times are still there and tried to be preserved. 

Braun RT 20 Radio

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Braun RT 20 Radio by Dieter Rams 1961:
I always wanted a tube radio, so a couple of years ago I found this Braun RT 20. The usual tube radios with their mostly dark brown and rustic design were a lesser option. I love the design but the soul of this radio as well. It takes about 10 seconds to start making sound (sometimes I forgot that I switched it on by then) and It takes some adjustments to the frequency after some minutes.

Only about 6600 pieces were built around 1961 by Braun Frankfurt – Germany.
Most will know the famous Schneewitchensarg record player SK-4 by Dieter Rams. 

I have to retune the frequency …